Half Whole Wheat Bread

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups luke-warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp. salt

3 - 3.5 cups unbleached ground white wheat flour (You can use regular all-purpose flour with success as well. You will need more flour closer to 8 cups, and it will make softer, less-coarse bread.)

3-3.5 cups whole wheat flour

*opt. 1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten (if using whole white wheat flour)

DIRECTIONS:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients starting with 6 cups of flour. Mix all together. Knead the dough thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, elastic, very slightly sticky, and pulls away from the bowl (6-10 minutes). As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency.

Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (half an hour or more depending on how warm your kitchen is.) You may speed up this process by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.

Punch the dough down, divide and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 greased bread pans. (I use 9" pans.) Sometimes I get three loaves of bread depending on how much it decided to rise. Cover and let rise till the top of the dough is an inch or two above the bread pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately, and place on a cooling rack. Slice, and serve warm with butter and honey.

Store in an air-tight bag. Baked loaves AND bread dough freeze well.

Note:

Sometimes I get three loaves depending on how much the dough decided to rise. I also generally have to let it rise for about a half hour and it has doubled in size. It also takes longer to cook the bread generally at least 10 Minutes (use a thermometer to test it and once it has reached 190 degrees it is usually done.)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 eggs

5 - 6 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 bag (24 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips (4 cups)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy.

Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff).

Stir in chocolate chips

On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly.

Bake 7-8 Minutes for soft, 9 minutes for crunchy or until light brown (centers will be soft).

Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack and finish cooling.

Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups Flour

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pats

1 cup to 2 cups mini chocolate chips, or finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract or the flavoring of your choice

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half or milk

Glaze:

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

7 tablespoons water, enough to make a thin glaze

1 teaspoon vanilla, optional

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Work in the butter just until the mixture is unevenly crumbly; it's OK for some larger chunks of butter to remain unincorporated. Stir in the chips or finely chopped chocolate. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla or other flavor, and 1/2 cup half and half or milk. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until all is moistened and holds together. Stir in additional milk or half and half if the dough seems dry, and doesn't come together. Scrape the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Pat/roll it into an 8" to 8 1/2" square, a scant 3/4" thick. Make sure the surface underneath the dough is very well floured. If necessary, use a giant spatula to lift the square, and sprinkle more flour underneath. Cut the square into 2" squares; you'll have a total of 16 small squares. Now, cut each square in half diagonally, to make 32 small triangles. This is all easily accomplished with a rolling pizza wheel; if you're working on a silicone mat, be very careful not to press down too hard as you cut. Transfer the scones to a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet. They can be set fairly close together; you should be able to crowd them all onto an 18" x 13" half-sheet pan. For best texture and highest rise, place the pan of scones in the freezer for 30 minutes, uncovered. While the scones are chilling, preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake the scones for 19 to 20 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven, and allow the scones to cool right on the pan. When they're cool, cut each scone in half once again, to make a total of 64 tiny triangles. Don't be too particular here; in fact, if the scones are already a size you like, don't bother to cut them again. But if you decide to cut, don't stress about making them all the same size, or perfect triangles; trust us, no one but you will care once they're glazed and on the table.

Glaze:

Make the glaze by stirring together the sugar, water, and vanilla. If the sugar seems particularly lumpy, sift it first, for an extra-smooth glaze.

Note: Ours only took 10 minutes to cook.

Fool-proof Homemade White Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups luke-warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. yeast

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp. salt

6 - 7 cups unbleached ground white wheat flour (You can use regular all-purpose flour with success as well. You will need more flour closer to 8 cups, and it will make softer, less-coarse bread.)

*opt. 1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten (if using whole white wheat flour)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and sugar. Let sit 10 minutes. Add the oil. Add the dry ingredients starting with 6 cups of flour. Mix all together. Knead the dough thoroughly until all ingredients are incorporated, and dough is smooth, elastic, very slightly sticky, and pulls away from the bowl (6-10 minutes). As you knead the dough, you may add more flour as needed, and repeat the process until dough reaches the desired consistency.

Cover the bowl of dough with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (half an hour or more depending on how warm your kitchen is.) You may speed up this process by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with the oven light on, and another bowl of warm water sitting on the lower rack.

Punch the dough down, divide and form into 2 loaves. Place the dough in 2 greased bread pans. (I use 9" pans.) Sometimes I get three loaves of bread depending on how much it decided to rise. Cover and let rise till the top of the dough is an inch or two above the bread pans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-35 minutes, or remove the bread from the pan hold upside down and check the temperature. Temperature should be 190* F. Remove the baked loaves from their pans immediately, and place on a cooling rack. Slice, and serve warm with butter and honey.

Store in an air-tight bag. Baked loaves AND bread dough freeze well.

Note:

Sometimes I get three or four loaves depending on how much the dough decided to rise. I also generally have to let it rise for about a half hour and it has doubled in size. It also takes anywhere from 20-35 minutes to cook depending on elevation and the stoves mood. (use a thermometer to test it and once it has reached 190 degrees it is usually done.)